Lando Norris and Max Verstappen have already had some tight battles in the 2024 season. However, none of these battles so far have resulted in the two making contact as they did in Austria last weekend. After the two made contact at the Red Bull Ring on lap 64, Norris was forced to retire. On the other hand, even though Verstappen was able to continue, he only managed to finish fifth after leading most of the race.
Since both drivers came off worse after the contact, they were undoubtedly frustrated and expressed their annoyance on the team radio. However, it is Norris’ radio, in particular, which Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko believes was “pathetic“.
After the contact, Norris took to his team radio and said, “He reacted to my move. You’re not allowed to do that… He saw me move, then he moved. That’s not allowed“.
Have a listen to both Max Verstappen and Lando Norris Radios
Full credit to [ YT : scenario 8 ] pic.twitter.com/4i3FF9rjy7
— ahmed baokbah ✈️ (@ahmed_baokbah) July 1, 2024
When asked to share his remarks about Norris’ comments on McLaren’s team radio, Marko replied, “Norris’ behavior on the radio was pathetic. But things like that happen and I would write it off as a racing accident, although Norris was more likely to have overstepped the mark“.
While Marko believes that Norris went too far in his remarks, he did suggest that the British driver and Verstappen would meet after their tense moment in Austria to “talk things out“. Marko then also went as far as claiming that Red Bull were also responsible for the two drivers making contact in the first place.
Marko accepts Red Bull’s fault in the Verstappen-Norris collision
Dr. Marko believes that both Verstappen and Norris were perhaps driving unnecessarily aggressively, suggesting that the blame could not be entirely placed on one or the other. However, in an interview with Formu1a.uno, Marko revealed a strategic element that may have influenced Verstappen’s aggressive approach.
“You could perhaps blame us,” said Marko. “We knew that an investigation into track limits against Lando was underway. But we didn’t know if and how he would be punished.”
| Helmut Marko on the incident:
“You could perhaps blame us.
“We knew the investigation into track limits against Lando was underway.”https://t.co/4sZeNMTCY9
— formularacers (@formularacers_) July 1, 2024
And that’s why they couldn’t instruct their driver to change his approach and let Norris pass so that the Dutchman could maintain a five-second gap in case the McLaren driver was penalized. But knowing how Verstappen is, it’s not even certain if he would have let Norris passed even if Red Bull would have asked him to do so.
